


We Were Once So Strong

by Khellamendra



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 02:26:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16823281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khellamendra/pseuds/Khellamendra
Summary: Shiro returns to Earth and reunites with Adam. Life isn't a fairytale and reality may be harder than expected.





	We Were Once So Strong

He had never expected to ever see Adam again.

Stepping out of the military vehicle and watching as one by one the rest of his team got to finally see their families, he didn’t expect to get the same. When Hunk found out his family wasn’t there and their whereabouts were unknown, Shiro was ready to be right there with him. He didn’t have anything waiting for him either but Hunk at least had hope. 

“Takashi?”

The familiar voice cut through everything else and for a split second Shiro thought maybe he was just hearing things. A product of stress and wishful thinking but then people actually moved to make way for the one person he had most wanted to see. At least that’s what he thought, what he had told himself so many sleepless nights in the astral plane. Standing here now, looking at the familiar face of his ex-fiance, he was struck by the thought that he didn’t feel as strongly about this moment as he had imagined he would. The looks on the faces around him, at least from those that knew about this part of his life, all said they had the same idea on how this reunion would go. 

Adam was a bit more reserved as he approached, feeling Shiro out while taking him in. Eyes raked over armor and lingered on the missing arm and scar. Shiro knew he was different from how he had been before and briefly he wondered if he would pass this silent test. The differences in Adam felt more subtle. He was older of course and his eyes had a bit more of a seriousness to them from a man who had seen battles and death much as he had. When the other man finally smiled, Shiro let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, obviously passing. He returned it, stepping forward to embrace him and finally confirm to each other they were real. 

He told himself the feeling would pass, that it was just stress and shock. Lotor had gone crazy, he had finally been freed from the astral plane only to be put into his clone’s body and almost die again. Their trip home hadn’t exactly gone smoothly either. It was little wonder he felt so out of it.

They didn’t have much time to talk, only stolen moments here and there.Mostly everyone was busy. They had a war to win and Sendak to stop. Nearly every day was a meeting, a mission, or a time when things were cut just a little too close. Shiro found that being around Adam did help him feel more grounded though it was his team that he felt the most comfortable around. It was an odd realization but he found solace in being able to continue to guide them. Keith was their leader now but they still looked to him though he was proud that the new black paladin had finally come into the position and become the leader Shiro always believed he could be. 

His near brush with death, again, after the attachment of the new arm was the first time in a very long time he and Adam had been intimate. It had been passionate and even as they lay exhausted together, he felt better. Maybe this was what they had just needed, a moment of respite for the two of them, a reminder of what they were before. The stress had melted away and had been exactly what he needed. It wasn’t the last time they came together like this and Shiro used it like a lifeline. Lance had almost died, the paladins ended up being captured, and then they all almost died again. He had visited each one of them in the hospital until they woke up and after. Every time he was reminded that they had family and they had someone waiting for them, two things he had desperately wanted but now he had it.

Did he?

It wasn’t until everyone had almost recovered, when he had actual downtime even, that the doubt finally had a chance to creep in. The thoughts ate at him until he couldn’t ignore them and he once again would lay awake for hours while Adam slept peacefully beside him.

“Are you okay?” Shiro looked at Keith, not even realizing he had spaced out. That familiar smile slipped into place as he sat up straighter.

“Of course I am I-” Pausing, the smile fell and he slumped in the chair. “Actually I don’t know what I am but I’m not sure if okay is the word to use.” He finally admitted. Keith stopped petting Kosmo and gave Shiro his full attention, sensing the heaviness of the words. 

“You know you can tell me anything. No matter what we always work things out, together.” he offered as Shiro gave a small smile. 

“Thanks Keith, I just-” He sighed. “I just thought I would feel different than I do.” Even without looking he could feel curious purple eyes staring at him, waiting him to continue. “I just thought that when I saw Adam again, I would feel differently. It’s not that I don’t care about him, I do and I love him but I’m not so sure I’m in love with him anymore. I know that must silly” He laughed awkwardly as if it was all suppose to be funny somehow even though it wasn’t.

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Keith could tell by the sudden look of shock that Shiro hadn’t expected that answer. He gave the older man an exasperated look. “Shiro, we were gone for a long time. Maybe it wasn’t as long for us as it was for them but we’ve still been through so much. You are not the same person you were when you left, none of us are. We all made new lives while we were out there. The two of you ended your relationship before you even left, it’s okay to have moved on.” The last words struck the deepest chord. Shiro had assumed when the stress left, the feelings would have a chance to come forward but they hadn’t . Everyone around him had expected him to pick things up from where they had left off. Even he had wished that the feelings would come back so he wouldn’t feel so alone. Shiro wanted what the others had so badly. The longer it took for that to happen the more he felt guilty for letting everyone down. 

Running hands over a face and into hair, he leaned heavily on his legs. “I have to tell him. I can’t just keep leading him on.” Shiro had faced some of the strongest the universe had to offer without batting an eye but the thought of breaking someone’s heart twisted his gut. The feeling of a hand on his shoulder did little to ease it. He felt his own heart breaking and soon another would join it.


End file.
